Sprawled across the deck of the Ghostship lay a blonde-haired boy surrounded by pooling blood.
Owwwww… My head is killing me…
Attempting to stand, Aaron quickly felt a burning sensation in his legs, realizing that they were almost glued to the floor.
So this is what it meant… Extreme backlash, eh?
He stretched his arms out, testing their strength before sitting up, observing his surroundings for anything that could be of use.
Quickly noticing daylight streaking across the deck, a thought occurred to him.
How long was I asleep?
Opening his mouth in an attempt to speak, nothing but silence echoed through the sea without any words coming from his throat.
Huh? Is being mute another side effect of the backlash?
Furrowing his brow in discontent, Aaron grabbed the edge of the ship, propping himself up against it, checking the waters.
His location had shifted further away from Sea Fallen; however, he was still within a safe distance, preventing the Ghostship from slipping into currents that would drag him deeper into the sea.
The ocean in front of him was a strange reddish-brown mixture of water with no trace of the hydra anywhere around.
Damn I was hoping I could absorb that core and regain some strength…
Turning his attention back to the ship itself, he noticed black marks across the hull with missing planks and scattered throughout.
Near one of the broken segments, an even smaller blue crab was holding a stone hammer within its claws, carefully repairing the damage.
Mr. Crab sure has seen better days… I owe him my life for throwing me to the deck after that explosion. Can't thank him though, so it'll just have to be repaid by not cooking for him later.
Smirking at the crustacean, Aaron crawled against the wooden railing towards the captain's cabin, which had lost its door during the battle.
Reaching the entrance, he suddenly felt an odd feeling in his throat.
Tingling pulses rippled through his neck, constricting his breathing, slowly suffocating him.
What the… Did the backlash get worse?
As the moments passed, the breathlessness faded, with the tingling disappearing along with it, with his throat felt sore and dry.
"If only I had water…"
Aaron's eyes suddenly widened in realization at the fact that he had just spoken.
So that wasn't it getting worse, but it was the healing… I don't understand how it works, but thank the Sea God it did.
Not wasting a moment, he used his repaired vocal cords to issue a command to the Ghostship.
"Resume course towards Sea Fallen…"
The turquoise sails descended from the masts as the helm began to turn quickly.
Aaron noticed that the blue flames were mere sparks compared to before the battle with the hydra, finally comprehending the side effects from what he had done.
That weapon… The Ocean Rifter, as that mirror called it, completely saps the energy of the ship while also sending all the backlash onto the user. No wonder it told me not to use it again before I master the ship… A majority of the damage was nullified somehow, but it might never happen again, so I need to be careful.
Nodding his head in agreement with himself, he continued his crawl inside the captain's cabin and towards the map table.
Hoisting himself onto a small stool that resided in the corner, Aaron checked the map for the crimson skull that he had seen previously.
"That can't be good…"
His gaze had caught on the city of Sea Fallen, where the skull was presently situated.
The area in the vicinity of the crimson mark had an odd darkness encompassing it, with the map blurring in those segments, preventing further analysis.
Something bad is happening over there… Luckily, it looks to be far away from the Cathedral of Depths, where Eleanor is, so at least she's alright.
…
Eleanor watched as large amounts of blood pooled from Olivia's arm and onto the stone floor around them.
"Y-Your arm!"
She half stuttered out a response, only to realize that her friend had a smile plastered across her face.
"You're so worried about this little thing?"
Olivia spoke teasingly, holding up the mutilated limb, which had slowly begun to regrow with the blood turning a dark black hue.
Eleanor's eyes widened in confusion, not fully understanding the scene in front of her.
"H-How did you do that!?"
She spoke in complete disbelief as she watched her friend grab her axe that had fallen to the floor with her severed arm.
The red-haired woman laughed before speaking in a calm voice.
"It's because of where we are that I was able to do this… Within the Mausoleum of Dreams, reality is simply an illusion."
Eleanor furrowed her brow with the previous confusion being supplemented with curiosity.
"What do you mean?"
She spoke cautiously, returning her gaze to the two figures, noticing that one of them, a woman, had turned to face them.
Olivia smirked and looked at the fearful Eleanor with pity.
"Oh… I must've forgotten to mention this, but the moment you enter the mausoleum, your mind exits reality and enters the World of Dreams that is produced by the sealed core."
She continued to speak, pausing only to squint at the approaching woman.
"Usually, you can resist the effects; however, with the seal damaged, it would require a Holy Saint or even the Pontiff herself to resist."
Eleanor's understanding of the situation instantly collapsed with thousands of questions circling her mind.
A world of dreams? This sounds similar to what Aaron spoke about after he consumed that sea terror core… Could they be related?
Shaking her head to focus, Eleanor watched the woman slowly walk closer and closer with the clacking of her black heels hitting against the stone brick floor.
The silver-haired woman stopped a short distance away from Eleanor and Olviia, who had prepared for a fight.
She spoke in a strange voice that echoed throughout the chamber, causing cracks to appear in the stone.
"Ah, so it is you. I guess that fool was right to question you… Well, no matter, you know how this dream world works better than anyone, right? So you know what the repercussions for death are."
Eleanor noticed a flicker of despair cross her friend's face, quickly solidifying into a harsh expression.
Olivia took a deep breath before uttering a short response that hit Eleanor to her core.
"Death is indeed permanent even in this place. Nobody can conquer that, even the Kings themselves."
The woman across from the girls nodded slowly before laughing under her breath.
"It's good that you understand that. Now, shall we discuss a little before we must fight?"
Olivia frowned before shaking her head and speaking.
"I have nothing to discuss with puppets."
Eleanor was puzzled by her friend's response; however, she remained silent, only observing as the silver-haired woman spoke.
"Perhaps you might think that, but since you are alone, you must know that there is no chance of victory in a true battle."
Olivia's expression froze with her brow furrowing in confusion.
Eleanor, who stood beside her, widened her eyes in surprise, not fully understanding the woman's intent.
Am I too weak for her to even comprehend? Or can she truly not see me?
Her thoughts were muddled by the strange occurrence as the conversation played back throughout her mind.
N-Not once did she even glance in my direction… Does she not notice me?
Olivia's eyes were darting between Eleanor and the woman, obviously concerned by the oversight.
Before either of the girls had a chance to speak, the crimson-eyed woman spoke calmly as she pulled a small flintlock from the void around her.
"I don't know why you were speaking to yourself before; however, whether you've finally cracked or not, you either listen to what I have to say or we can end this now."
The words spoken confirmed Eleanor's suspicions about the situation; however, the reasoning behind it was still unknown to her.
She really can't see me…
Olivia turned her attention solely towards the silver-haired woman, again speaking calmly.
"If those are my only options, then I choose to fight now rather than listen to someone like you."
As she spoke, the woman across from them simply sighed, aiming her weapon towards Olivia's head.
Olivia readied herself; however, the moment she was about to fire, a loud cracking was heard from the core, followed by an intense scream.
"ARIANNA!"
The masculine voice carried immense fear as the silver-haired woman whirled around to face him.
His body was being warped and twisted by an invisible force, with his arms stretching beyond that of a human, ripping apart with a deafening crunch.
The woman's expression crumbled as she began to run; however, the ground below her simply turned to dust with crystal-like shards scattering throughout the room.
Deep rumbling echoed across the mausoleum, with the reflective pieces of glass forming a structure in the center of the room around the crystal.
Eleanor's pupils dilated as she recognized the sight before her.
"I-It's forming a mirror…"
Author Note:
I am switching from WebNovel to Tapas so if you could come support me there it would be appreciated!